EEDING 




COPYRIGHT 1914 BY CARL DARE 



Profitable 
Squab Breeding 



By CARL DARE 



A complete practical guide for the 
beginner as well as the experienced 
breeder. 

Reliable information gleaned from 
the experience of a lifetime in the 
work. 

Full instructions on all points from 
the installation of the plant to the 
marketing of the product. 



Des Moines, Iowa 

1914 



.313 




u 



CARL DARE 
Des Moines, Iowa, October 1, 1914. 

©Ci.A388543 

NOV 23 1914 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 
Profits of Squab Raising— Will It Pay? 

CHAPTER II 
Best Breeds for Squabbing — The Kind to Buy 

CHAPTER III 

The Construction of Houses — Pigeon House Plans — Nests 
— Water Fountains— Bathing Dishes — Keeping House in Sani- 
tary Condition 

CHAPTER IV 

Feeds and Feeding — Breeding Habits 

CHAPTER V 

Increasing the Flock— Selecting Future Breeders — Banding 
— Mating 

CHAPTER VI 

Making a Market — Preparing Squabs for Market 

CHAPTER VII 
Diseases of Pigeons 




A Typical Mammoth Homer. The Most Profitable for 
Squab Raising:. 



INTRODUCTORY PREFACE 

No business has had such a wonderful growth within the 
last few years as the raising of squabs for market. Only a 
few years ago the use of squabs for food was confined to a 
few of the most wealthy families. Game was plentiful and 
cheap and those who were not very well off preferred quail 
and other game birds to paying the high prices asked for the 
few squabs which were sent to market. 

Gradually the demand for squabs grew larger, as more 
people became acquainted with their delicacy and good quali- 
ties as food, and this led to larger numbers being produced. 
Soon all the larger markets furnished squabs and then the 
.smaller ones began to supply them and now many a com- 
paratively small market is not complete without squabs as a 
part of the supplies of food kept on hand or provided on 
order. 

Game birds have become scarce and high-priced, and squabs 
have taken their place in such a manner that the demand for 
game is not so large as it was, while the demand for squabs 
continually increases. 

The rearing of squabs for market is immensely profitable 
as well as easy. Squab-raising can be conducted on a scale 
large enough to make it worth while in the back yard of a 
town lot, or it can be conducted on a scale large enough to 
require several acres with equal profit on every dollar in- 
vested in the business. 

Squab-breeding is a business which is profitable when 
conducted as a side line on a small space and all the work 
may be done by women, children, or those who are not strong 
enough for the more laborious occupations of life. At the 
same time it is a business which men of affairs need not 
hesitate to undertake as there are squab farms on which 
pigeons are kept by tens of thousands with great profit. 

The squab business may be commenced with small capital 
and rapidly increased from the increase of the flock, as each 
pair of breeding birds will produce at least twelve in a year 
so the increase is very rapid. 

So great has the demand for a book which would give 
all the details of the business of squab-raising become, that 
we have felt compelled to publish this book. It is written 
to teach people, beginners mostly, not merely how to raise 
squabs, but how to conduct a squab and pigeon busi- 

6 



ness successfully. We have found breeders of squabs 
who knew how to raise them fairly well and took 
pleasure in doing so, but were weak on the business end of 
the industry. The fancier, who raises animals because he 
likes their looks or their actions, or because he hopes to beat 
some other fancier at an exhibition, is not the man for whom 
we have written this book. We have developed utility pigeons 
and the squabbing industry solely because they are staples, 
salable in any market at a remunerative price. The success 
of squabs as we handle them depends on their earning capac- 
ity. They are a matter of business. Our development of 
squabs is based on the fact that they are good eating, that 
people now are in the habit of asking for and eating them, 
and there is a large traffic in them which may be pushed to 
an enormous extent without weakening either the market or 
the price. If, as happens in this case, pigeons are a beautiful 
pet stock as well as money makers so much the better. It is 
just as easy to pet a practical animal as an impractical animal, 
and much more satisfying. 

This book is the latest and most comprehensive work we 
have done, giving the results of our experience as fully and 
as accurately as we can present the subject. It is intended 
as an answer to the hundreds of letters we receive, and we 
have tried to cover every point which a beginner or an expert 
needs to know. It has been our experience in handling this 
subject and bringing it home to people that the little points 
are the ones on which they most quickly go astray, and on 
which they wish the fullest information. After they have a 
fair start, they are able to think out their operations for 
themselves. Accordingly we have covered every point in this 
book in simple language and if the details in some places 
appear too commonplace, remember that we have erred on the 
side of plainness. 

It has surprised a great many people to learn that pigeons 
are such a staple and workable article. They have been 
handled by the old methods for years without their great 
utility value being made plain. When we first learned about 
squabs, we were struck by the impressive fact that here was 
something which grew to market size in the incredibly short 
period of four weeks and then was marketed readily at a 
good profit. The spread of that knowledge will make money 
for you. Show your neighbors the birds; you tell them the 
facts, and perhaps give them a squab to eat, then you will 

6 



find a quick call for all the live breeders you can supply. 

We have tried to answer all the questions which a beginner 
would ask and give all the details so plainly that any one can 
begin breeding pigeons and raising squabs with success. The 
instructions given are based on actual experience in raising 
squabs and we have tried to write so plainly that any one 
can understand just how to begin and continue in the busi- 
ness. 

Those who follow the instructions given may look for- 
ward with confidence to a successful career as pigeon-breed- 
ers provided they begin with the right kind of breeding stock, 
the kind which produces heavy-weight, plump, white-fleshed 
squabs. CARL DARE. 

Des Moines, Io\Va, October 15, 1914. 




A Pair of Beautiful Blue Bar Mammoth Homers, 
Straigrht American Bred. 



CHAPTER I 

PROFITS OF SQUAB RAISING— WILL IT PAY? 

In first considering squab breeding tlie beginner always 
asks, "Will It Pay Me to Raise Squabs?" It is well to con- 
sider this phase of any business before making very much 
of an investment. 

The squab business is comparatively new in this country 
although it has already reached such proportions that there 
can not be any doubt but it is the most profitable and pleasant 
business in which any one may engage. Under the methods 
outlined in this book there is no chance for a conscientious 
worker to fail. 

This country is filled with plants large and small and I 
have yet to find a plant that is not paying a handsome profit 
unless there be something wrong with the stock or methods 
employed. I have visited the great squab plants of Califor- 
nia where thousands upon thousands of birds are left to fly 
at will and nest in open boxes protected only from the sun, 
and here I find that the squabs are paying a fine return on 
the investment and thousands of tourists visit these large 
plants annually and pay an admission fee of fifty cents each 
so that the revenue from this source is considerable. 

I have visited also the great squab district in South Jersey 
where the squabs are produced for the large cities of the 
East; the plants also in Massachusetts, New York and Penn- 
sylvania, and I find that on the best equipped and best 
paying plants the methods employed are practically identical 
with those outlined in this book. The fact that experienced 
breeders in such widely separated sections of the country 
have adopted almost identical methods is certainly proof that 
we have the right idea and that the advice we give here to 
the beginner will be well worth while. 

The largest plants in the country are in the far East and 
far West as indicated, but I believe there is no one other 
state that has so many up-to-date plants as the state of Iowa. 
You will find a paying squab farm in nearly every city of 
this state, and in some of them there are two or three large 
and up-to-date, well equipped plants. In one little town in 
the northern part of the state there is a plant where over 
fifteen thousand breeders are kept right along. The proprietor 
of this plant has told me that when he began w'th a few 

8 



pairs of Homers of indiscriminate breeding he had hardly 
enough funds to pay for the birds and their feed for the first 
few months. He now owns the large plant of several thou- 
sand birds of the purest stock with suitable buildings, and a 
beautiful home and drives an up-to-date seven-passenger auto- 
mobile. His son and daughter are both attending a university 
in the East and every cent of his money has been made with 
pigeons. If his were the only case of such kind there would 
still be proof enough of the profits in the squab business to 
justify careful consideration by anyone, but I personally know 
of thousands of others who have made a success, some of 
them on a larger scale, and there can no longer be any doubt 
of the opportunity of making money in this business. 

THE PROFITS OF SQUAB RAISING 

In another place in this book we have shown how easy it 
is to arrange a place in which to keep squabs. Hundreds of 
people are so situated that they could raise squabs who could 
not possibly take care of a flock of chickens, because they 
lack both time and space. 

In raising squabs the cost of attendance is reduced to 
the minimum. There are no eggs to be gathered, no setting 
hens or incubators to be looked after, no young birds to be 
fed and cared for. The pigeon-breeder simply puts his birds 
in the loft, feeds and waters them and they build their own 
nests and feed their young. 

The space that would be needed by a dozen hens will 
comfortably keep fifty or a hundred pairs of pigeons, and 
the revenue from a pair of pigeons in a year is about the 
same as from a good laying hen. 

The squab-breeder gets his money in four weeks, while 
the man who raises chickens must wait at least twelve weeks 
before he can sell his birds. 

The manure from a loft of pigeons can be sold as a garden 
fertilizer for enough to pay for the cost of feeding the birds. 
In many cities and towns florists consider pigeon manure the 
best fertilizer they can get for flowers and garden crops and 
large tanneries use tons of it in tanning leather. It usually 
sells for 50 cents a bushel in town for fertilizing lawns, 
flower and vegetable gardens. 

It will cost just about $1.00 to keep a pair of pigeons one 
year. When the writer visited the great squab farms of South 
Jersey, he particularly inquired about the cost of feeding a 



pair of pigeons one year. In that country most of the grain 
is shipped from the West and from Canada. The wheat comes 
from New York, Ohio, or states further west, the kaffir corn 
mostly comes from Kansas and the hemp seed from Kentucky. 
The peas come from Canada. All these grains are sold with 
the freight added to the initial price and the feed dealer's 
profit, of course. In the Mid-West the freight charges would 
be much smaller than they are in the East, so the cost of keep- 
ing a pair of pigeons would be considerably reduced. 

In the South Jersey squab district we found that the cost 
of keeping a pair of breeding Homers one year ranges from 
$1.10 to $1.25 a year. In other sections of the country the 
cost runs as low as 85 cents per pair. If a certain loft con- 
tains pigeons of extra breeding qualities, it will cost more 
for feed, as the old birds have more squabs to feed than would 
be the case where less productive birds were kept. 

It should be understood that when we give the cost of 
keeping a pair of breeding pigeons the cost of raising their 
squabs is included. That is when we say it costs about $1.00 
to keep a pair of pigeons a year, we mean it will cost this 
amount to keep the pair and all the squabs^ they produce in 
a year. 




CHAPTER II 

THE BEST BREEDS FOR SQUAB RAISING— THE KIND TO BUY 

In selecting a breed, the beginner is at once struck by the 
hundreds of different varieties, each one with some merit, 
and each one put forward by breeders of more or less reputa- 
tion as the one best variety to be handled. I believe I have 
thoroughly tried and tested the merits of all the leading varie- 
ties of squab producing pigeons and right here I wish to 
caution the beginner against paying fancy prices for highly 
advertised cross-bred stock. There is no advantage to be 
gained by crossing the blood lines of two or more varieties 
for breeding purposes. This is true in pigeons the same as 
it is true in every other line of pure bred stock. The best 
results will always be obtained by using pure bred birds and 
in selecting the variety to stock your plant you must have 
in mind the investment which you expect to make and the 
market on which you will sell your squabs. In all cities 
the squabs are graded according to size and quality and the 
heavier birds will bring a premium over those of light weight 
but in some cases the extra heavy birds bring such a premium 
that it is worth while to produce squabs of unusual size, while 
in the average market the extra heavy birds bring a little 
more than those of good weight but not enough to justify the 
increased expense in producing them. 

After an experience of twenty years in this business I do 
not hesitate to say that for the general market under all con- 
ditions, the best paying investment for the beginner is the 
straight American bred Homer. Reputable breeders of this 
variety will furnish stock of good size and they are the best 
workers and best feeders and will stand more abuse and mis- 
treatment than any of the other varieties I have ever handled. 

Squabs from the best American bred Homers usually 
weigh eight and ten pounds per dozen with occasional lofts 
that will produce squabs weighing as heavy as twelve pounds 
to the dozen. 

Inferior stock that has not been properly fed will produce 
squabs much smaller than the above, but at the same time 
you will find their squabs weighing six or seven pounds to 
the dozen. If the squabs are plump and of good quality, they 
will bring a fair price. 

11 



The Homers are the fastest workers and the best feeders 
and they will produce squabs under unfavorable conditions 
that would discourage all other varieties. For a second selec- 
tion for the experienced squab breeder who has a market for 
large squabs of extra quality I would suggest the Giant Car- 
neaux (pronounced Karno). These birds come to us from 
France and Belgium and they are a little larger than the 
Homers, fast workers and produce squabs of the whitest 
meat. Breeding stock in this variety is higher in price and 
usually costs two or three times as much as the Homer stock, 
and bearing in mind the added cost of foundation stock it 
would be noted at once that the returns must be larger from 
this variety to justify the increased expenditure. The Car- 
neaux is a bold appearing, beautiful bird and comes in solid 
red, solid yellow, and red and white splashed. The latter 
color being much preferred by squab breeders. 

The Swiss Mondaine is an extra large variety that has 
met with considerable favor in this country, and the squabs 
from this variety often weigh as heavy as twenty-four or thirty 
ounces each. These birds very much resemble the American 
bred Homer in appearance except, of course, they are much 
larger. They are slower workers and the squabs require 
about two weeks longer to mature for market. Breeding stock 
is usually quite high in price. 

Duchess, Runts and Maltese Hens are all large birds and 
have some merit but I have not found them as profitable as 
the Homers or Carneaux because they are much slower to 
mature and do not breed as rapidly, moreover the stock is 
much higher in price. There are many Runt-Homers, Runt- 
Carneaux and other crosses on the market being widely ad- 
vertised and boosted as great squab producers, but the infu- 
sion of the blood of any of the larger varieties is bound to 
make such birds slower workers and less prolific. 

Taking all of these things into consideration and as a 
result of many years in the business and after carefully test- 
ing the merits of so many varieties I must insist that the 
beginner will do the best with straight American Bred 
Homers of the right quality, or the Giant Carneaux. 

BUYING THE STOCK 

Always buy of a reputable breeder whose word may be 
taken for the quality of his birds. The reputable breeder 



sells in the hope of selling again and sells only such birds 
as he can recommend and knows will give satisfaction. 

If the reputable breeder says the pair he sells are mated 
it may be depended upon that there are an equal number of 
each sex in a purchase and that these pairs are already mated 
and ready to go to work almost as soon as they are in their 
new homes. 

The beginner must not be impatient if the birds after 
shipment are a little slow in going to work, for he must 
remember that many of these birds have been taken from their 
nests and their young and shipped many miles with indif- 
ferent care en-route and some of the matings may have been 
more or less broken up. Many beginners fuss too much with 
their birds and disturb them until the birds have little chance 
to settle down in their new homes and go to work. If you 
provide clean fresh water and feed as directed in this book 
and leave the birds to themselves they will soon be working. 

Some very reputable breeders sell young birds with the 
understanding that they are sold just as they come from the 
nests, the buyer knowing when he buys these birds that they 
are not mated and that he must wait until the birds have ar- 
rived at mating age and get ready to mate themselves. 

When birds are bought just as they come from the nests, 
there are always more cocks than hens among them, as about 
nine times in ten when only one bird is reared in a nest that bird 
is a cock; but there is nothing unfair in this sort of sale, as 
the buyer gets his birds at a lower price than he would have 
to pay for mated pairs ready to go to work. 

If it should be found when the birds are settled to work 
in their new home that some mistake has been made in select- 
ing mated pairs and odd birds are found in the loft any repu- 
table breeder will furnish birds of the opposite sex to mate 
with these odd birds at a reduced price, so the purchaser will 
have nothing but mated and working pairs for his money. 

WHAT IS MEANT BY MATED PAIRS 

When we say mated pairs, we do not mean simply an 
equal number of birds of each sex. We mean pairs which 
have mated and married and are ready to go to work and 
rear squabs without further waiting after they have been re- 
ceived. Pigeons mate in pairs and remain constant to each 
other for life, as a rule. Matings are some times broken by the 
birds themselves especially when some accident has befallen 

13 




Pure White Maltese Hen Pigreon 



the young in the nest, or when the birds are being disturbed 
by rats or mice, or when cooped and shipped with a number 
of other birds in small shipping coops. 

When a pair have gone through the courting stage and 
have mated ready to build a nest and hatch young, they re- 
main true to each other as long as they live, or as long as 
they are allowed to remain together. If a mating is broken 
by death or separation, the birds will mate with other birds. 
This rule of constancy is rarely broken and may generally be 
depended upon. 

Some pigeon books say that a beginner can do as well 
with the common pigeons that fly about the streets as with 
the straight Homers. This statement is absurd on the face 
of it. The common pigeon has bred indiscriminately and in- 
bred until the squab produced by it is thin, light in weight, 
skinny and dark fleshed to such a degree that they sell for 
about $1.50 a dozen in the markets. Most people would 
willingly pay three times that for the plump, meaty squabs 
from straight American bred Homers. 

The beginner who secures the right kind of stock has made 
the first long step toward success as a squab-breeder and 
he should not hesitate to pay the price which good breeding 
stock is worth, for poor breeding stock means failure and loss 
in the end. 

Your success depends upon the stock you buy. It is 
much better to buy good stock at a fair price than it is to get 
poor stock for nothing. No man can tell by looking at a lot 
of breeding pigeons whether they are good breeders or not. 
No man can tell whether they will produce squabs with white 
flesh or dark, squabs that will weigh ten pounds to the dozen 
or six pounds. No one can even guess at the age of a pair 
of pigeons and those which are old and worn out look just as 
nice as those which are only a year old. 

The whole future of the beginner depends upon getting 
stock which is right in every way. Imported birds are usually 
of all ages and qualities. American-bred birds, if bought of 
a reputable breeder, may be depended upon to produce a 
large proportion of heavy, light-fleshed squabs and properly 
selected and mated pairs will go to work and breed regularly 
as soon as they have become accustomed to their new home. 
For these reasons I would not advise the purchase of imported 
birds except on rare occasions after carefully investigating 
the stock and the circumstances of their importation. 

15 



CHAPTER IIJ 

The Construction of Houses 

PIGEON HOUSE PLANS NESTS— WATER FOUNTAINS— BATHING 
DISHES— KEEPING THE HOUSE IN SANITARY CONDITION 

No doubt many a person has been deterred from making 
a start in the business of raising squabs on account of the 
fancied expense of building suitable houses. No one should 
make the mistake of thinking that a costly house is necessary. 
To be sure a well built, nicely painted house is ornamental 
and adds to the appearance of a squab-breeding plant; but 
this will come before long if the beginner has the proper 
qualifications and the ability to increase the size of his flock 
as rapidly as he may with good care and attention to his busi- 
ness. 

The writer has traveled all over the great squab-breeding 
sections of the East and West and found about every kind 
of a pigeon house that the ingenuity of man has ever been 
able to build. We have seen houses which cost thousands 
of dollars and those which were built of the odd boards that 
were picked up about the farm. We have seen as fine birds 
and as large squabs in a house improvised from piano boxes 
as we ever saw in any of the great squab-breeding plants. 

It is not so much a question of looks in a house as it is 
of comfort and good care. One of the finest squab-breeding 
plants in this country has grown up from a few birds which 
were housed at first in a corner of the barn. The owner per- 
severed and kept adding to his flock as he made money from 
it, and he now has fine buildings and thousands of birds, all 
earned from an initial investment of something like $25. Not 
a cent was ever added to the original investment, all the in- 
crease and improvement in buildings having been paid for 
out of the earnings of the birds themselves. 

Before we go further, let us say that the pigeon-breeders 
do not talk about pigeon houses. A house or room in which 
pigeons are kept is called a "loft," whether it is on the ground 
floor or in the peak of a barn. The pigeon house is a loft and 
the flock of pigeons kept in a loft is called a loft of pigeons. 
It is just as well to get the proper terms used in the business 
at first, as pigeon-breeders always use them. To return to our 
pigeon loft. A loft may be made in the corner of a stable 



or other out-house, with a fly outside. We might explain 
for the benefit of the beginner that a pigeon "fly" is a wired- 
in yard, a sort of big cage in which the pigeons are kept 
within limits. The flies are made by setting up posts about 
eight feet high and stretching two-inch mesh poultry netting 
on them. A fly is usually about ten feet wide and from twelve 
to thirty feet long. This is covered over the top with the same 
kind of poultry netting that is used on the sides. 

We have seen as good pigeon lofts as any one would need 
made in the loft of a stable, the fly being on the roof. Posts 
were so set up on the roof that their tops were even with the 
peak of the roof. The enclosure was then shut in, sides and 
top, with poultry netting and the birds had a roomy and dry 
fly which was always clean, as the rains washed the droppings 
off the roof at frequent intervals. 

In Chicago, we saw an extensive pigeon loft on the top of 
a flat-topped building high above the street; and a very well- 
known squab breeding establishment in a southern state is 
on top of a big hotel, the owner breeding the squabs he needs 
for his hotel in this high-placed situation. 

From the foregoing it will be seen that the question of 
housing the breeding pigeons is not a very complicated one, 
as there is a wide latitude for action. 

Some breeders even allow their birds to fly at large not 
using flies at all; but this practice is not recommended. In 
the first place, the birds do not produce so many squabs as 
they do under confinement and they are liable to accidents, 
such as being caught by hawks, shot by boys, or some other 
mishap which causes the owner to lose them and often lose 
squabs which such birds have in their nests. 

It has been found best to keep the birds strictly confined. 
One well-known squab-raiser has a pen of fifty pairs of birds 
in his lofts which have been confined in the same place for 
seven years and are still working well. The writer visited 
this loft at the end of the seventh year of their confinement 
and noticed that they were producing squabs at a good rate. 

For the convenience of beginners, we give ground plan 
and elevation of two styles of pigeon lofts. The loft designed 
as No. 1, may be built at a cost as low as $15.00, for one room, 
or it may be made to cost $50 or even more. It will be seen 
that the plan is for two rooms, but this is not the limit of size 
that is possible. We have seen lofts with a dozen rooms in 



them, but would recommend about four rooms as the most 
convenient limit where pigeons are kept extensively. Where 
a four-room house is built for lofting purposes, the plan should 
include a storeroom unless the owner has a room which con- 
veniently can be used for a storeroom for feed and as a place 
for dressing and packing the squabs. 

In House No. 2, it will be seen that an alleyway is built 
in the house back of the lofts. The partition between this 
alleyway and the lofts is made of two-inch poultry netting, 
but the partitions between the rooms are solid and as air 
tight as the outside walls. 

A good many breeders are now using stout muslin instead 
of glass in the windows, as this gives light, lets the warmth 
of the sun enter the rooms and provides a good system of venti- 
lation. Houses in which cloth windows are used are found 
to be fully as warm as those having glass windows. 

On the side of the house next the fly, a series of openings 
is made near the roof, but low enough to open under the top 
of the fly. These openings may be about eight inches square 
with a six-inch wide shelf even with the bottom inside and 
outside. These are the doors through which the pigeons go 
back and forth to and from the fly, and the shelves beneath 
them are the lighting perches. These openings should be pro- 
vided with a sliding door so that they can be closed when it 
is desirable to shut out the cold or to confine the birds for 
any reason. 

NESTS 

In providing nests for a loft, at least two nests for each 
pair of birds should be provided. This gives the birds a 
chance to build a new nest to use while the squabs are maturing 
in another, as after the birds begin to breed they will have 
eggs in one nest while they have a pair of squabs in another. 
Some breeders provide 120 nests for fifty pairs of birds, but 
this is rather more than is necessary. 

The nest boxes are easily made. The illustration on page 21 
shows very clearly the manner of constructing them. In 
practice, boards one foot wide on which cleats one inch square 
are nailed across, one foot apart, are set against the wall in 
perpendicular lines one foot apart and firmly secured, the 
edge being to the wall, of course. This leaves the cleats op- 
posite each other. Then boards one foot square are cut and 

20 



laid on these cleats. When the work is done, we have a series 
of nests one foot every way, each shelf forming the bottom of 
a nest and the top of the one under it. If nappies are not 
used, a cleat should be nailed on the front edge of the shelves 
in order that the nesting will not be worked out by the birds. 
Nests made in this way are very easily cleaned, as the shelves 
may be drawn out and cleaned without trouble. 

NAPPIES 

Nappies are dishes or bowls of a peculiar shape which 
are made for pigeon nests. These nappies are used by a 
great many pigeon-breeders, but we have not found them neces- 
sary as the birds are perfectly able to build their own nests 
and will do so if the nest boxes are provided. 

Where only a few pairs of birds are kept, we have seen 
boxes used for nests. Boxes about the size of orange crates 
are used, these being divided into two compartments and 
fastened to the wall by nails driven through the bottom. We 
recommend that regular nests be provided as they give a 
nearer appearance to the lofts and are more easily cleaned. 

NESTING MATERIAL 

A good supply of nesting material should be provided for 
the pigeons. This may be short straw, or coarse hay in short 
lengths, but the best material is tobacco stems which may be 
bought at about one cent a pound from the stores that keep 
pigeon and poultry supplies. These tobacco stems prevent in- 




Fig. 4. Showing a Cheap and Convenient Arrangement for Nests. Many 

Breeders Prefer to Use This Style of Nest Box Without the Nappies, 

Tacking a Strip Across the Front to Hold the Nesting Material. 

21 



sects from being harbored in the nests and save a great deal 
of trouble in this way. The ideal nest is one made of tobacco 
stems for a foundation and then finished with soft straw. 

WATER FOUNTAINS 

Pigeons are great drinkers and should be watered at least 
twice a day as they need a plentiful supply of fresh water. The 
best way to supply this is by using the regular watering foun- 
tains which are made for this purpose. These may be bought 
through almost any breeder who sells pigeons. If the one 
of whom the pigeons are bought does not keep them for sale, 
he will give the name of a firm which handles them. These 
fountains cost only a small sum and they keep the water clean, 
whereas if open water vessels are used, the water becomes 
foul with dirt and dust. 

BATHING 

Pigeons must be provided with facilities for bathing, as 
they will not keep in good health if they cannot have a bath 
regularly. They delight in getting into water and bathing 
themselves all over. An ordinary big dishpan makes a good 
bath-tub for pigeons, or a barrel so cut off as to be four inches 
deep makes a good tub for bathing purposes. Empty the bath- 
tub as soon as the pigeons have finished their baths to prevent 
them from drinking the foul water. 

SANITATION 

A pigeon loft must be kept free from insects and disease 
germs by carefully attending to sanitary conditions. The free 
use of lice-killers, cleaning the nests out as soon as the 
squabs are taken from them and whitewashing the whole in- 
terior of the loft at least twice a year will keep the enemies 
of the birds from gaining a foot-hold, as well as destroy stray 
disease germs which may be floating in the air. 

DRYNESS 

Pigeons must have a dry loft or they will fall victims 
to disease. To keep the houses dry they should have the 
floor at least a foot from the ground and the location should 
be such that water does not stand around the house or under 
it. Make the floor double, so that it will be air-tight and let 
the air circulate under the house freely. Two objects are 
accomplished by having the floor off the ground; the rooms 
are kept dry and rats will not burrow under the house. 



FLOOR COVERING 

The floor of the pigeon houses should be kept covered with 
about an inch of sand, if this can be procured handily. Oth- 
erwise keep it covered with chaff, which should frequently 
be renewed. 




Fig. 5. 



Showing Construction of Crate for Nesting 
Material. 



The cover is removable and protects the material from 
the droppings and filth. Tobacco stems, straw or hay cut 
into lengths of six or eight inches, should be kept before 
the birds at all times and this crate is the handiest and 
best way to furnish this material. 



CLEANLINESS 

It is necessary to keep the pigeon lofts clean. Some breed- 
ers advocate cleaning them every week, we think a good 
cleaning once a month will do. Every time the lofts are 
cleaned, the birds must be disturbed more or less, and this 
results in some little loss, so the matter of cleanliness 
should not be carried to extreme. If the house is dry and 
light, the droppings will quickly dry up and will not become 
offensive for several weeks. 



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CHAPTER IV 

FEEDS AND FEEDING— BREEDING HABITS 

Pigeons are exclusive grain eaters. They do not require 
animal food of any kind, nor is green food necessary for them. 
Occasionally a nice tender head of lettuce may be given to each 
loft and they will eat it with relish, but such green foods as 
grass, lawn clippings, or cut clover should never be given 
them. The lettuce is not necessary but may be given by way 
of variety, but not more than one head to fifty pairs of birds. 

The principal feeds are red wheat, sifted cracked corn, 
Canada peas, kaffir corn, hemp seed and German' millet seed. 
Besides these, buckwheat, barley, and canary seed may some- 
times be given; but the first-named constitute a good variety 
and should be used as a constant feed. All of them are neces- 
sary and they should be properly rotated. 

SOUND GRAIN NECESSARY 

We want to emphasize the fact that all grain used for feed- 
ing pigeons must be sound and wholesome. It is the very 
poorest kind of economy to feed shrunken, musty, or damaged 
grain of any kind. 

WHEAT 

The wheat used should be sound red wheat which has 
been thoroughly dried. New wheat should never be used. 
Good No. 2 red wheat, at least six months out of the straw, 
should be selected. 

PEANUTS 

In many localities Canada Peas are so high in price that 
breeders can hardly afford to feed them but the cheapest raw 
peanuts may be obtained at a low price and these will take 
the place of the Canada Peas and give just the same results. 
I have found them very satisfactory as a feed and hundreds 
of my customers have reported excellent results with them. 

CRACKED CORN 

Sound, well dried. No. 2 sifted cracked corn should be 
used for pigeons. By well dried, we mean that the corn 
should be of the crop of the previous year. It should be 
cracked so that the pieces will be about the size of wheat 
grains. It should be sifted to separate the fine meal, as the 

26 



pigeons will not eat the meal and if it is left in the food troughs 
it will sour and produce bowel trouble in the birds, old and 
young. 

CANADA PEAS 

Canada peas should be well dried out, selecting those of 
the previous year as they are thoroughly dry and sound. 
This is the highest priced feed the pigeon-keeper will need 
to buy but it is not fed largely, being used sparingly on ac- 
count of the great nutritive qualities, which cause squabs to 
grow rapidly and make heavy breast meat. 

KAFFIR CORN 

Kaffir corn has become a regular article of sale and can be 
bought almost anywhere. It is between wheat and corn in 
value and makes a very good pigeon feed. Buy seed of the 
previous year when buying for pigeons. 

HEMP SEED 

But a small quantity of hemp seed is used. If too much 
were given the birds they would become very fat and get 
lazy. A good plan is to throw a handful of hemp seed on the 
floor once a week on a stated day, say Wednesday. Never 
put hemp seed in a feed trough, as the first birds to get to 
the trough would "hog" all the seed. 

MILLET SEED 

The seed of the German millet makes an excellent pigeon 
feed. It also is quite fattening and must be used sparingly. 
It is usually quite cheap, compared with its food value, and 
should be kept on hand at all times. 

BUCKWHEAT 

Buckwheat is very fattening and should be fed sparingly. 
The pigeon-breeder need not take any special pains to get it 
for his birds, but in some localities buckwheat is raised ex- 
tensively and in these places the grain may be used by way 
of variety. Buckwheat is very heating and therefore is best 
used in severe cold weather. 

CANARY SEED 

Canary seed is too costly to use as a regular feed, but 
birds relish a small feed once in a while. In some parts of 

27 



this country canary seed might be grown very easily and it 
would find a large sale if enough of it were produced to meet 

the demand which would soon grow up. 

- - ,.---j. 

OTHER FOOD REQUISITES 

Pigeons require, besides the grain they eat, salt, grit, and 
charcoal. These should be kept in the lofts constantly, so 
that the birds can get at them at any time. 

GRIT 

Pigeons must have grit and plenty of it at all times. More- 
over this grit should contain some tonic mixture and other 
essentials to keep the birds in the best of working order. 
Many breeders fail to supply their birds with grit of the right 
sort and for that reason do not get the best results from their 
birds. 

There are many so-called "Health Grits" on the market 
and many of them with more or less merit but grits are heavy 
and freight and express charges are high so it is usually best 
for the breeder to secure clean sharp sand and mix the grit 
at home. There is great saving in this and at the same time 
better results are obtained. 

SALT 

Salt is absolutely necessary to the health of the pigeons. 
It should never be given them in the form of table salt, be- 
cause they will eat too much of it. If rock salt can be secured, 
it is the best form in which to give salt to the pigeons. If 
this is not procurable, buy a five-pound bag of table salt and 
wet it. Then put it in the oven and dry it, when it will be- 
come almost as hard as the original rock salt. Put a bag 
in each loft and let the pigeons pick out the salt through the 
bag. 

CHARCOAL 

Charcoal keeps the birds in good condition and a cigar box 
full of charcoal, broken into bits about the size of wheat 
grains, should constantly be kept before the birds. This 
crushed charcoal is to be found in poultry supply stores. If 
none of these are within reach, the pigeon-breeder may make 
his own charcoal by burning wood to a coal and then extin- 
gushing the fire with water. Corn cobs, charred in this 
way, make an excellent charcoal for pigeons. 

29 




Swiss Mondaine. Very largre but usually sloiw workers. 



HOW TO FEED 

It is usually best to feed pigeons by hand. They should 
be fed twice every day. In summer, feed at 7:30 a. m., and 
at winter 4:30 p. m. In winter, feed an hour later in the 
morning and an hour earlier in the evening. Of course, 
these hours may be varied but the feeding should be done at 
the same hour every day, morning and evening, as the birds 
soon become accustomed to the feeding hours and if not fed 
on time become very restless. Many successful breeders feed 
their birds in hoppers thereby greatly reducing the labor of 
feeding. This method is successful unless the birds get to 
picking out only certain grains and then more or less trouble 
will be met. It is always necessary to construct hoppers in 
such form that the birds cannot get into them and foul the 
grain, but this is a very simple matter as shown by the illus- 
tration on next page. Mixed grains sufficient for several days 
feeding may be placed in these hoppers and the birds will 
eat only what they need for each meal. 

FEED TROUGHS 

Feed troughs should be ten inches wide, six feet long and 
three inches deep. These are easily made and are much better 
than any of the automatic hoppers on the market. Where the 
feed is given in hoppers the birds will eat the kind they like 
best and waste much of the rest of the feed. 

MIXTURES RECOMMENDED 

For the morning mix equal parts of wheat, cracked corn 
and Canada peas. Give three quarts of this mixture to each 
fifty pairs of birds. For the evening feed kaffir corn, cracked 
corn, millet and Canada peas, equal parts. Give three quarts 
to each fifty pairs of birds. 

Every third day, substitute hemp seed for millet, or feed 
a little less of the regular ration and throw a handful or two 
of hemp seed on the floor as recommended above. If broken 
rice can be bought cheaply a small feed of this may be sub- 
stituted for one of the feeds of hemp seed each week. Peanuts 
may be substituted for Canada peas wherever it will mean a 
saving in cost. 

ALWAYS FEED INDOORS 

Never feed pigeons out of doors, as any feed left over is 
likely to be damaged by the weather; and in bad weather they 
must be fed indoors, so it is best to feed them indoors at all 
times. 

31 






Fig. 9. Showing Construction of Feeding Hoppers. 

Fig. A shows end construction of the double hopper from which 
the birds may feed at both sides and Fig. B shows construction of 
the single hopper. The style illustrated may be made In a few minutes 
from an old box and will hold about four bushels of grain. This 
method of feeding saves a great amount of time and labor. 



ECONOMICAL FEEDING 

The pigeon breeder should always feed his birds, so that 
he will know it is properly done. If at any time any of the 
grain from a previous feed is left in the troughs, the ration 
should be reduced a little. If the troughs are emptied in a 
way that shows the birds have not plenty to eat, add a little 
to the quantity given them. 

Pigeons which are feeding squabs require more feed than 
those not working, as they must eat enough for the squabs 
and for themselves also. 

Squabs are fed by the parents in a most peculiar way. 
The old birds, male and female, eat the grain and drink water 
freely. This is partially digested until it is formed into a 
milky liquid mass. Then the squab puts its beak inside that 
of the parent bird and the parent by a peculiar jerking motion 
of the head and neck "pumps" this liquid food into the crop 
of the young bird. This feed is called "pigeon's milk" and 
is very nutritious, young squabs growing more rapidly than 
any other kind of young birds. 

BREEDING HABITS 

The breeding habits of pigeons are peculiar. When a male 
has selected the female he desires for his mate, there follows 
a course of true love-making in which the male struts around 
his favorite, coos to her and evidently tries to show her what 
a grand bird he is. The female, if attracted by her wooer, 
becomes friendly with him and the two "bill" each other 
very much as if they were exchanging kisses. 

The two then select a nesting place and build a nest there- 
in and the cock bird becomes very anxious for the hen to 
begin laying. If she does not promptly attend to her duties, 
he will drive her about the loft, talking angrily to her and 
striking her with his wings. 

Finally the hen takes to her nest and deposits an egg. 
Then she misses a day and deposits a second egg, this usually 
being all that are laid at one time. 

As soon as the first egg is laid, brooding begins. The 
hen occupies the nest from about four in the afternoon until 
ten the next forenoon. The cock then sits while his mate eats 
and rests. In this order the brooding goes on and at the end 



of about seventeen days the first laid egg hatches, and in due 
course the last one hatches if no accidents have happened 
to it. 

In this way it happens' that one of the young birds is two 
days older than the other and almost invariably the first 
hatched is a male, the latter one being a female. 

The old birds now begin to feed the young, and they grow 
marvelously. They are kept stuffed full of "pigeon milk" and 
on this they seem to grow while one watches them. 

In a few days the hen is ready to lay again, and if there 
is a spare nest box the pair makes another nest and the hen 
lays two eggs, after which the couple are kept very busy 
brooding one pair of eggs and at the same time feeding a 
pair of rapidly growing squabs. 

When the squabs are about four weeks old they are heavier 
than they ever will be again in their lives, as they have reach- 
ed full size and are very fat. It is at this time that they are 
taken from the nest and sent to the market. 

If not taken from the nest about this time, the old birds, 
desiring to stai^. in with another pair of eggs, turn the squabs 
out and they fall on the floor of the loft so fat they can 
hardly get about. Here they become lean while learning to 
eat for themselves, and soon become sleek and trim, instead 
of being unwieldy with fat. 

This doubling up with families shows the necessity of 
providing at least two nest boxes for each pair of pigeons in 
a loft. It is even better to have more than two nests for each 
pair, as this gives them some liberty of choice and often 
saves quarreling between two couples. 

As pigeons mate for life, it is very important that only 
mated and married pairs are kept together. If an odd cock 
or an odd hen is left in a loft, there are family troubles with- 
out end; and the quarrels which arise from this cause result in 
broken eggs and squabs killed in the fights. 

It sometimes happens that a pair will not produce young. 
This is usually because the hen is barren. In such a case 
the hen should be disposed of and a new mate for the cock 
furnished. It is best to shut the two in a box with a wire 
partition between the two until they become acquainted with 
each other, after which they will usually mate, although they 
do not invariably do so. 

34 



DETERMINING THE SEX. 

It is very difficult to determine the sex of pigeons with- 
out watching them at work in the fly. Various breeders have 
methods by which they are sometimes able to distinguish the 
male from the female but at best, these methods are only a 
guess and the only safe way is to place the birds in a mating 
coop or in a fly with others and watch them carefully. 

As a rule the bones at the vent of a female are wider 
apart and softer than those of a male, especially in older 
birds that have laid and hatched young. Sometimes the sex 
may be determined by an examination of the tail feathers, 
those of the male being worn on the under side at the ends 
from throwing the tail down against the ground or the roof 
of the loft when strutting. Others hold the bird by the beak 
in one hand and the feet in the other and then when the bird 
is stretched out, the male will usually hold the tail close to 
the body, while the female will throw her tail out. These signs 
are only indications of the sex and even the most experienced 
breeder will often be badly fooled in handling unmated birds. 
The best and safest way is to watch the birds, as stated above, 
and it will quickly be noted that the male re livelier than the 
female and is usually cooing and strutting about her and will 
turn entirely around in his flirting while the female seldom 
turns more than half way around. 



35 



CHAPTER V 

INCRKASING THE FLOCK— SELECTING FUTURE BREEDERS 
BANDING— MATING 

Almost everyone who raises squabs finds that he must 
constantly increase the number of breeding pigeons in his 
lofts in order to keep pace with the increasing demand for 
squabs. 

The most economical way to increase a flock is to save 
the best squabs from the first breeding stock bought; and to 
do this it is necessary to select squabs for this purpose as 
they are hatched, the object being to improve the quality of 
the flock by keeping only the best of the squabs. 

Where a flock is being increased, it is a good plan to buy 
some new stock which has been banded and mate the cocks 
which have been bought with home-raised hens and the hens 
which have been bought with some home-raised cocks. This 
saves inbreeding. 

Close inbreeding soon runs down the vitality of a flock 
and should be avoided. This matter will be taken up further on. 

As we have said, the first pigeon to hatch in the nest is 
almost invariably a cock and the last one a hen. This rule is 
so constant that it may be depended upon. 

In selecting squabs for breeding stock, always select those 
from the nests of pairs which produce squabs most regular- 
ly. Such squabs are more likely to be good producers them- 
selves. 

Select the squabs which grow most rapidly and weigh the 
most at the time they are ready for the market. Such squabs 
are from pairs which are good feeders and will be most likely 
to become good feeders themselves. 

Be sure to select squabs which have light-colored flesh, 
as these will produce squabs like themselves and light flesh 
brings the highest price in the market, unless they are sent 
in too soon. 

When we say the light color in flesh of a squab denotes 
that it will produce light-fleshed squabs, it is to be under- 
stood that this will be the case if the parents are properly 
fed according to directions given in a previous chapter. Pig- 
eons which are kept confined and properly fed always produce 
more and better squabs than those allowed to run at large. 

37 



Having selected the squabs which are to be retained for 
breeding purposes, band them at once. Open pigeon bands 
can be bought at about a cent each. The best plan is to band 
the cocks right leg and the hens on the left, using consecutive 
numbers for each pair. 

Thus, 111 might be a cock and 112 hen. In making mat- 
ings, the owner would know at once that these two were not 
to be allowed to mate together, as they would be brother and 
sister. If, in any case, nest mates show inclination to mate 
together, they should be shut away from each other, and 
forced to mate with non-related birds. 

A forced mating is made by using a mating pen. This is 
a cage with two compartments in it, separated by a wire 
screen, such as two-inch mesh poultry netting. Put the cock 
in one side and the hen with which you want him to mate in 
another, and leave them in the pen until they are acquainted 
with each other. Then shut them in the same compartment 
and usually they will mate up with each other all right. 

Squabs which are to be kept for breeding should be taken 
away from the older birds as soon as they have learned to 
eat for themselves. Feed them well all the time, and at the 
age of about six months they will begin to mate and then re- 
quire regular attention, as they should be kept under close 
supervision at this time. 

As soon as a male bird is seen "driving" a female, both 
should be caught and their bands examined. If they are nest 
mates they should be separated as recommended in the begin- 
ning of this chapter and forced to mate with other birds. It 
will only be necessary to remove the cock bird, substituting 
another cock in his place. 

If the cock and the hen he is driving are not nest mates, 
their band numbers should be recorded in a book kept for 
this purpose. Such a record gives the owner an opportunity 
to keep account of the number of squabs a given pair produces 
and to pick squabs for breeding in the future, knowing what 
the parents have done. 

The record should give the number of the cock and hen 
and a brief description of each. The following form is recom- 
mended: Cock 111— Red Check, Hen 222— Blue Bar. 

Each pair should have a space in which to keep account 
with it. After the number and description may be a ruled 
space in which to keep acount of the number of squabs the 

38 



pair produces month after month. If they regularly produce 
and raise two squabs of good size and light color, they are 
valuable as the parents of breeding stock and should be kept. 

If a pair does not produce squabs, the chances are then 
the hen is barren and she would be sold for what she will 
bring in the market and the cock mated with another bird. If 
the eggs are infertile, the trouble is likely with the cock and 
the matings should be broken and two birds tried again. 
If the eggs still are infertile, the cock should be sold in the 
market. 

Usually there are more cocks than hens in a given lot of 
squabs and it is easier to give a hen which lays infertile eggs 
a new mate and sell the cock without experimenting further. 

Barren hens and impotent cocks are not common in well 
bred birds, and very little trouble may be anticipated from such 
causes. 

When one of a pair of squabs dies, the chances are about 
nine out of ten that the female of the pair dies. This is be- 
cause she is two days younger than her brother and has less 
chance to get a start. Thus it happens that every loft produces 
more cocks than hens, a circumstance which has led some 
of the hucksters who sell pigeons as squab-raisers to send 
out lots of birds in which there were many more cocks than 
hens. This is why we have insisted that the buyer should 
buy from a reliable breeder and buy mated pairs. 

In a loft containing fifty young cocks and fifty young hens 
it almost always happens that the matings are not all made up, 
as some birds refuse to mate with certain other ones, and 
there may be a few birds which have not mated. In this 
case the odd birds may be put among other young birds and 
so find mates that suit them. 

In catching pairs at the time they are being recorded, or 
when they are to be sold as breeders, two people should do 
the work. A catching net, which is a netted bag the mouth 
of which is fastened to a hoop with a long handle, is used. 
The pigeon breeder soon gets so expert that he can trap a 
pigeon in such net without fail and without disturbing the 
other birds in the loft. 

When a couple of pigeons is found driving, the one who 
does the catching traps one of them with the net while his 
helper keeps watch on the other one of the pair. The captured 
pigeon is examined and its band number put on the record. 

39 



Then the helper takes the net and catches the one he has been 
watching and the. band number is taken, always remember- 
ing that a bird with a band on the right leg is a cock and one 
with a band on the left is a hen. 

If the method here recommended is followed, the pigeon- 
keeper will be able to know just what each pair of birds is 
doing and keep a pedigree of every bird in his flock by a simple 
method of bookkeeping as follows: 

When the squabs that are to be kept as breeders are being 
banded the band numbers of the parent birds should be taken 
and set down in this way: 

Squab numbers Parent numbers 

Cock 111 84-67 

Hen 112 84-67 

In making this record the number under the head "Par- 
ent numbers" is always set down in the same way, the name 
of the father first and the mother next. 

It is but very little trouble to keep such records and the 
value of them is very great, for the pigeon-keeper can refer 
to his records at any time and find how any bird that was 
hatched in his lofts has been bred. 

This enables him to select the best producers and feeders 
and improve his stock all the time, selling off its inferior 
ones and keeping up a high standard, which will in time give 
him a reputation for squabs or breeding stock that will be 
valuable to him, as he will get higher prices than he could 
get for ordinary stock. 

On a large plant this method means an endless amount of 
bookkeeping work so it has not been attempted. The largest 
breeders do not bother to band their birds or keep a record 
of squab production for each individual pair but usually have 
a pen of select breeders that have proven their worth and from 
these are raised the new breeders to replenish or increase the 
flocks. 

When a bird dies out of the working flock it is disected to 
determine the sex and another of the same sex is placed in 
the fly to mate with the odd bird. These two soon get together 
and the fly is once more filled with mated, contented workers. 



40 



CHAPTER VI 

MAKING A MARKET— PREPARING SQUABS FOR MARKET 

We make one of the sub-heads of this chapter, "Making 
a Market," although the market for squabs is already estab- 
lished, and the demand for them in the larger cities is con- 
stantly increasing. 

Notwithstanding this, the enterprising squab-breeder will 
make his own market and get better prices than he can get if he 
sends his squabs to the larger cities. 

In the beginning he may be obliged to ship to the cities, 
but he can build up a home trade among those who like to 
have the best the market affords and by degrees his home 
demand will grow until he will find a ready sale nearby and 
will be saved freight and commission charges as well as the 
cost and trouble of packing and icing for the longer ship- 
ments. 

We know of numerous cases where squab-breeders have 
built up a home demand which takes all the squabs and brings 
them high prices the year around. 

Very often the enterprising beginner will turn his atten- 
tion to raising squabs to sell to others for breeding purposes, 
and finds this very profitable, although a good market for 
squabs is about the same as a good demand for breeding 
stock. Other squab breeders arrange to sell their young stock 
to those who do breed pigeons to sell as breeding stock and 
thus have a regular and constant demand for their young 
birds. 

All these ways of disposing of the increase of the loft are 
open to the beginner, but the food market is the one that 
should be cultivated. We know of a case where a beginner 
started in with a view of selling breeding stock only, as he 
thought he was not so located that he would have any demand 
for his squabs in the handiest market, a small interior city, 
where squabs had never been put on sale. 

After he got started he found that he could sell a few 
pairs of squabs to one or two restaurants and the best hotel 
in the town. He began supplying orders from these places 
and others began to call on him for squabs for special oc- 
casions, such as local banquets, receptions and other social 
functions. 

41 



He started with fifty pairs of breeders. He selected his 
best squabs to keep for the purpose of increasing his flock 
and sold the others in his nearest market. 

At the end of a year he had saved another fifty pairs for 
breeding and found he had sold squabs enough to pay for a 
new house and all of the feed he had bought during this time. 
Then he concluded to begin advertising squabs for sale as 
breeders. He received quite a number of orders, but the de- 
mand for squabs for the market became so strong that he 
gave up the breeding part of the business and began to sell in 
the market only. At last so many were sold in the town that 
a prominent provision firm came to him and made him a flat 
offer of $4.00 a dozen for all the squabs he would raise. He 
refused this offer, as he was getting more than this for a good 
many of his squabs and did not think he could afford to make 
a binding contract on a market where the price was increasing 
all the time. This same breeder now has a thousand pairs 
of breeding pigeons and hires a man to take care of them, 
while he attends to his own business, and makes about 
$1,000.00 clear money from his pigeons every year. 

Another way to build up a private trade is to introduce 
nicely dressed squabs among the wealthiest families of a 
town. This can be done by presenting them with two or three 
pairs, nicely put up in a box, and asking them to try them. 
One breeder who started out in this way now sells all his squabs 
at $1.00 a pair. He dresses them neatly, puts a pair in a nice 
white box with a colored bit of "baby ribbon." He has a de- 
mand for all he can get at $1 a pair, although he lives near a 
large city where the price is often lower than this. 

The enterprising squab breeder will be able to find a 
market for the product of his loft, no matter where he lives. 
The express companies carry squabs at the regular dressed- 
poultry rates, and in many places there are fast freight lines 
which take butter and eggs to distant markets in the shortest 
possible time. 

The Parcel Post now brings a large field of customers 
right to your door, for dressed squabs may be sent many miles 
for a few cents and the package will be promptly delivered 
in good order to your customer. This new branch of the 
Postal service opens up greater possibilities for the squab 
producer and the live breeder who first takes advantage of this 
service will reap the rewards. 

42 



Squabs properly packed may be sent 1,000 miles to market 
and yet be profitable, but there is hardly a place in this coun- 
try where a good market can not be found within 200 or 300 
miles, and even a thousand miles is not a long distance for 
an express train. 

The trouble will not be so much where to find a market as 
how to produce squabs enough, once the breeder has been 
in the business long enough to make a name for himself. 

If any breeder sends squabs of good size and color and 
keeps up the quality regularly, it will not be long before there 
will be a call for his particular brand of squabs, and after that 
it will be a question of meeting the demand, for this will 
grow all the time. 

DRESSING AND PACKING SQUABS 

Squabs are usually ready to send to the market when four 
weeks old. Some well-fed ones, or those bred from the best 
parents, will come to market condition a few days earlier and 
some a few days later. As a rule, it will be about four weeks 
from the time they are hatched until they are ready to send 
to market. 

They should be dressed just about the time they are ready 
to leave the nest, for they are heavier and fatter at that time 
than they ever will be again. 

They should be dressed at the time all the pin feathers 
are out. They then have a solid feeling about the abdomen 
and the breast is plump and full. It is very easy to learn the 
exact time that squabs should be sent to market, and anyone 
can learn it at once. 

Go over the nests in the evening and select the squabs 
which are to be dressed the next day. These should be put 
in a coop by themselves, where they can not get anything to 
eat, so their crops will be empty when they are dressed. If 
they are sent to market with full crops, the contents of the 
crop will sour and ferment and spoil the squabs for food pur- 
poses in a short time. When dressed with the crops empty 
and properly iced in warm weather, they will remain fresh 
until they can be sold in the market. 

A "killing rack" should be made before dressing begins. 
This consists of a frame not quite shoulder high, a 2x4 scant- 
ling making a good cross-piece for the top. In the side of this 
cross-piece drive ten-penny nails about six inches apart, 
leaving half the length of the nail protruding. 

43 



-*>.y 




Fig:. 11. Showing the Arrangrement of a Small Plant on a Back Lot. 



Make a loop of stout cord, looping it over both feet of the 
squab, and by this string hang it on one of the nails. Then 
cross the wings over the back in such a way that they are 
locked. This prevents fluttering and is painless. To lock the 
wings, turn the pigeon with the back to you and cross the 
hands. Then take a wing in each hand and pass one under 
the other in such a position that the "elbows" lock together. 

With the small blade of a pen-knife in the right hand take 
the head of the squab in the left hand in such a way that the 
thumb and forefinger may be used to hold the mouth open. If 
held in the right way, the shoulders of the birds will be in the 
palm of the hand. 

Run the blade of the knife up through the top of the mouth 
into the brain and immediately pass to another squab, letting 
the one just killed bleed, as it is necessary for the bird to be 
free from blood to prevent red spots from appearing along 
its back after it has been killed a few hours. These red spots 
are called "blisters" and injure the selling qualities of a 
squab which shows them. 

After the birds are thoroughly bled, carefully pick the 
feathers from them, being careful not to tear the skin in any 
place, as this also lowers the value in the market. 

The English method of killing is rapidly gaining in favor 
in this country and is superior in many ways to the use of the 
knife. By this method the operator grasps the bird firmly in the 
left hand with the thumb and fingers about the neck and the 
breast and wing, butts held securely in the hand. The bird's 
head is caught in the right hand with the thumb over and at 
the back of the head and the first and second fingers at the 
throat. Then with a firm pull, the neck is dislocated and 
the jugular vein is ruptured so the bird is killed instantly 
and thoroughly bled, all of the blood however remaining in- 
side the skin of the neck. 

A little practice will enable anyone to learn this method 
and it is much faster, neater and cleaner than the old method. 

When a squab is plucked clean, throw it into a tub of 
water from a spring or well from thirty minutes to an hour. 
Then it should be thrown into a tub of ice-cold water to 
further cool and solidify the flesh, for all the animal heat must 
be chilled out before a squab is packed or it will not keep 
well, arriving in the market soft and unattractive in appear- 
ance. 

45 



Be very careful to have the second chilling water almost 
cold enough to freeze the birds. In cold weather they soon 
cool out in water which has been exposed to the air, but at 
any time in the year first cool them in well or spring water 
of normal temperature. 

After the squabs are picked and cooled, pack them in ice 
in barrels or boxes. We prefer rather small boxes, say about 
the size of soap-boxes, but many thousand pairs are sent to 
market in clean barrels. Empty apple barrels or cracker bar- 
rels may be used. 

In the bottom of the packet put a good layer of cracked ice. 
A good many times the ice is not cracked as small as it should 
be. It should be broken into pieces about the size of a hick- 
ory nut, so the pieces will work down through the space be- 
tween the birds. After the bottom is covered with ice, put in 
a layer of squabs, pack down and so the carcasses are closely 
packed but not squeezed together. Over these put another 
layer of ice and again a layer of birds until within two or three 
inches of the top. Fill the remaining space with cracked ice 
and fasten the package. 

Be liberal about using ice, for it is necessary that the birds 
should be kept cool and the express companies make allowance 
for the weight of the ice in weighing squabs packed this way. 

If any grain has been found in the crop of a squab as it is 
being dressed, it should be removed. Cut a very small slit in 
the breast over the crop and wash out the grain. A small hose 
with light pressure from a tank or water system is very handy 
for this purpose. 

Before packing the birds, carefully wash all the blood from 
them and wash the feet and legs until they are bright and 
red. 

If there is a shade of difference in the quality of squabs, 
select the best for the top of the package and take pains that 
the top layer is very carefully laid in so that it will look nice 
when the package is opened. 

If there happens to be a number of dark-fleshed or rather 
light-weight squabs in a killing, these should be packed by 
themselves and sent on in anticipation of receiving a low price 
for them. Nothing is gained by putting some poor squabs 
among a number of good ones, for they will reduce the price 
of the whole package. If fine ones are put by themselves and 

46 



marked "Firsts" and the poorer ones sent without any parti- 
cular mark the prices obtained for the whole shipment will be 
larger than it would have been if good and poor had been packed 
together. 

It is best to kill on a certain day in the week, the day de- 
pending on the distance to market. In South Jersey they kill 
on Monday or Tuesday and send the squabs to New York and 
usually get a check for them by Saturday. Some kill Thurs- 
day in order to catch the Saturday markets, but as a rule it is 
best to reach the market Friday morning, so as to give the com- 
mission merchant two days in which to sell the birds. Often 
an early shipment gets the best price. 

At the same time the squabs are sent to market, mail a letter 
to the commission man, advising him of the number of birds 
you send to him and by what express company or freight line. 
Give him any particulars which may help him to make a good 
sale, if you think of anything that might interest him. 

In the eastern market squabs are graded by weight and 
quality. They are called 10-pound, 9-pound, 8-pound, 7-pound 
and 6^1' -pound, and the prices range accordingly. When 10- 
pound squabs are worth $6.00 a dozen, those weighing 61/2 
pounds will sell for from $1.50 to $2.75 a dozen, according to 
the state of the market, the high-priced ones always selling 
first, unless a buyer has a special reason for securing a lot of 
light-weights. 

When breeding straight Homers, one can reasonably ex- 
pect 80 or 90 per cent which will run 8 pounds or over to the 
dozen. About two-thirds of the remainder will run close to 
8 pounds to the dozen and one-third will be classed among 
the lowest quality. 

When 10-pound squabs are selling for $6 a dozen, a lot 
weighing more than 10 pounds to the dozen will bring a pre- 
mium of from 50 cents a dozen up; but as a rule the most 
profitable squabs are the 8- and 10-pounders. 

In picking squabs, some leave them hanging where they 
are killed, while others take them in the hand. The weight 
of practice is in favor of holding them in the hand. 

NUMBERS OF SQUABS TO THE PAIR 

Some enthusiastic or dishonest sellers of breeding pigeons 
talk about their birds producing nine or ten pairs of squabs 
each year. There are occasional pairs of very select birds 



which will do this, but they cannot be bought at any reason- 
able price. No pair of birds will raise two squabs every time 
they hatch, for accidents will happen, and one squab or both, 
in some brooding periods, will die. Occasionally an egg will be 
broken, and once in a while an egg will prove infertile. These 
accidents, which happen in the best cared-for lofts, come' to 
every pigeon-breeder. 

If a large loft of pigeons average six pairs of pigeons a 
year, it will do as much as can be expected of it. More will 
fall below that than run above it, because there are more care- 
less pigeon-breeders than careful ones. 

Say, for the sake of a basis from which to arrange, that a 
loft of a good strain of Homers, properly housed and fed, will 
produce an average of six pairs of squabs each year. As pig- 
eons breed ten months in the year, this average should be 
easily made. This would be an even dozen squabs for each 
pair of pigeons in the loft. These we will put at the very low 
price of $3 a dozen, a price they will bring in a country town 
of any size, and we have $3 as the gross returns from a pair of 
fair breeding Homers. 

Deducting from this the highest estimated prices for the 
feed of a pair of pigeons, we have $1.75 left. This will be the 
returns from which the pigeon-breeder must get his profits. 
The manure will pay well for the labor of feeding the birds, 
so this item is eliminated from the bill of cost. 

It will not cost more than 25 cents per pair to pay for the 
other labor of caring for a loft of pigeons where any number 
above 100 pairs are kept. The owner of such a loft could do 
all the work before working hours in the morning and after 
hours in the evening so the birds would not interfere with his 
regular work. 

The cost of ice, the cost of killing and picking the birds, 
and the cost of packages may be put at 25 cents a dozen, which 
is a very liberal estimate. This leaves $1.25 clear profit, after 
paying all expenses and paying the owner for the time he puts 
in feeding his birds, this work having been done when he would 
otherwise have been idle or not earning money. 

Say, it cost $1.00 for each pair of birds kept in a house 
and the birds costs $2.50 a pair. The interest on this invest- 
ment at 6 per cent a year would be 21 cents, thus leaving $1.04 
as absolutely net profit from a pair of pigeons in a year, after 
paying all expenses at a liberal rate and paying good interest 
on the investment. 

48 



There is no other business open to those who have a small 
capital which will give such large returns. For every 100 
pairs of pigeons kept, it is perfectly safe to say that a clean 
and clear profit of $100 may be made. Where a large number 
are kept, it is not uncommon for the owner to realize $1.50 net 
profit from a pair of Homers. 

The one who begins with ten, twenty-five, or fifty pairs 
of birds will get proportionate returns from his investment in 
the way of increased number in his flock and will soon be in 
position to consider himself an extensive pigeon-breeder, be- 
cause he may expect to have at least four pairs of first-class 
breeders from each pair he started with at the beginning of 
any year, having kept only the best and sold the poorest of the 
squabs. These estimates are very conservative for it is our 
intention in this book to give the beginner only the facts on 
which he may rely. If he fails to do much better than these 
figures after some experience in the business, he may well 
feel that he is not gaining the fullest measure of success. 

The business is only in its infancy and those who start in 
now or any time soon may expect to reap a rich reward in the 
way of profits. 




A Flock of Mammoth White Homers in far off Alaska. 



49 



The illustrations on this page and succeeding pages 

show the rapid development of squabs from 

the egg to the market in four weeks. 




Eggs in the Nest. 




Squabs One Day Old. 



You Can Almost See Them Grow 




Squabs One Week Old. 




Squabs Two Weeks Old. 




Squabs Three Weeks Old. 




Squabs Four Weeks Old. Just Prime for Market. 



CHAPTER VII 

DISEASES OF PIGEONS 

The very best way to escape trouble from diseases among 
pigeons is to prevent them by always keeping the lofts and flies 
in first-class coadition. Carelessness is the worst disease that 
affects pigeons, and this is always manifest in the owner before 
it has any effect on the birds. 

If the lofts are kept clean, the feed supplied is sound and 
sweet, the water pure and the feeding regular, the birds them- 
selves will not often be troubled with diseases of any kind. 

However, with all possible care, diseases will appear at 
times, and it is well to know what to do to prevent them from 
spreading and causing serious loss. 

Epidemic diseases will never appear in a flock which has 
been properly cared for, unless they are brought in through put- 
ting newly purchased birds among the healthy ones. 

It is just as well to use caution when introducing new birds 
even if there is not the least suspicion that they are not per- 
fectly healthy. 

When new stock is bought it should be kept by itself for a 
week to determine if it is free from disease. Not once in a 
hundred times will birds bought of a reliable breeder be found 
unhealthy, but prevention is better than cure any time, so pre- 
cautions should be taken. In such cases it is much better to 
be over cautious than to have losses occur through lack of 
precaution. 

GOING LIGHT 

"Going Light" is the common name for tuberculosis in pig- 
eons. It is brought on by drinking impure water, eating un- 
sound feed, lack of good supply of grit, or from natural lack 
of vitality. This disease never attacks healthy and vigorous 
birds, but takes for its victims those which have become weak 
from any reason. If it is not taken in hand at once, the bird 
wastes away and becomes nothing but "skin and bones" and 
dies. The first symptoms are usually diarrhoea, the droppings 
being thin and watery. The bird does not eat, but sits around 
with its head drawn down and really starves to death because it 
has no appetite to eat. 

63 



If a bird which has started to go light, is taken in hand at 
once it is very often possible to save it for future usefulness. 
Give it a dose of castor oil, giving about five or six drops. 
Put in a coop by itself and the next day give it ten drops of 
cod liver oil. Repeat the dose of cod liver oil every day until 
the bird is cured. Give it hempseed every day and be very 
certain the seed is sound and free from mustiness. A good 
health grit or tonic is the best preventive to be used. 

CANKER 

Canker is a disease of the same nature as diphtheria in 
human beings. It appears occasionally in lofts where it never 
before has been found, and seems to be contracted from germs 
which float in the air. It often attacks the birds in one nest 
and not the one next to it, although if it is not taken in hand 
it will soon spread to all the birds in the loft. 

It no doubt comes from a cold very often and for that rea- 
son birds which show symptoms of having caught cold should 
be carefully watched. The first appearance of this disease 
shows in little yellowish white blisters on the lining or mucous 
membrane of the mouth and throat. These rapidly increase 
in size and spread to other parts of the throat and form a cheesy 
growth until they show outside around the mouth, and the bird 
chokes to death. 

When canker appears in a squab only and the parent bird 
shows no sign of it, the best thing to do is to kill the squab, 
disinfect the loft and stay the disease in this way. It may be 
cured by using a little patience, unless it has gone too far 
before it is discovered. 

Remove the sick bird from the loft and keep it in some 
place not adjacent to the pigeon house. Take a small sharp 
splinter of wood, such as sharpened match, and scrape the 
cankers off, doing this as gently as possible. This will leave 
a raw red spot, which should be gently swabbed with a solu- 
tion of peroxide of hydrogen and water, half and half. The 
solution will foam as if it were boiling, but it is entirely pain- 
less and does not hurt the bird in the least. Repeat the swab- 
bing, putting on plenty of the solution, until it ceases to foam. 
It does not matter if a little of the solution goes down the throat 
of the bird, as it is perfectly harmless when swallowed by 
man, beast or bird, and it is the best germicide known, being 
non-poisonous and odorless. 

64 



Some good authorities recommend painting the cankers with 
lemon juice and putting a piece of alum in the drinking water, 
but we prefer the peroxide of hydrogen treatment. Do not 
return a bird to the loft until it is entirely well, and always 
disinfect the loft when a case of canker is found in it. Direc- 
tions for disinfecting are given further on in this chapter. 

If the disease does not respond quickly to treatment, it is 
sometimes best to turn the affected birds out of the fly and 
let them shift for themselves without restraint. The open air 
and scanty supply of food together with whatever they are able 
to find of nature's remedies will effect a cure in nearly every 
case. Sometimes a bird will leave and never return but just as 
well this loss as to kill the bird, or have others in the fly affect- 
ed. By this method I have often cured young birds just begin- 
ning to shift for themselves and older breedres in the last stages 
of Canker and when the bird is entirely recovered from the dis- 
ease ;t may easily be caught and returned to the loft without 
endangering the rest. 

ROUP 

Roup sometimes appears in a loft, especially during damp 
weather or when the birds have not had proper housing. It is 
shown by the discharge from the nostrils, which has a very 
offensive odor. It is highly contagious in its later stages, and 
if not cured before it takes on the contagious form is incurable. 
When a bird has reached the last stages it should be killed and 
burned or buried far from the loft. 

If a bird is noticed to have a discharge from the nostrils 
it should be attended to at once as the disease is very easy to 
cure at that time. Put some coal oil in a sewing machine can 
and squirt some of the oil up each nostril and in the slit in the 
top of the mouth. This usually effects a cure, but if it is not 
better in a few hours use camphorated oil in the same way. Any 
druggist will supply the camphorated oil. 

CHOLERA 

Cholera is a dreadful disease to contend with, but no pig- 
eon-breeder who keeps his birds properly need fear it, as it is 
caused by cold, dampness and filth in nine cases out of ten. 
It is very contagious and it is very hard to cure. Happily, the 
disease does not worry the careful breeder, but once it gets 
started in a loft it may kill off every bird in it unless vigorous 
measures are taken to stop its progress. 

55 



When a bird is attacked with cholera it presents a very 
miserable appearance. Its plumage is ruffled up, its crop 
fills with water which has a very offensive odor, and diar- 
rhoea appears. The disease runs its course rapidly and soon 
the victim is dead. 

To stop the progress of cholera in a loft, put ten drops of 
carbolic acid in a gallon of drinking water for two days. Feed 
only the very best feed. Follow the carbolic acid by putting 
a tablespoonful of tincture of gentain in each gallon of drink- 
ing water for ten days. Disinfect the house thoroughly twice 
a week until the disease disappears. 

VERTIGO 

Vertigo is a brain affection which is incurable, although it 
does not usually kill quickly. It is characterized by turning 
the head over the shoulder and convulsions. These convul- 
sions often occur when anyone enters the loft, while at other 
times the bird is quiet. There is no cure and it is best to kill the 
bird to put it out of its misery, as it will never again be of 
any use as a breeder. 

EGG-BOUND 

Young hens are often affected by becoming egg-bound; that 
is; they are unable to force the passage of the egg from the 
ovary to the nest. 

When a hen shows signs of distress, catch her and care- 
fully feel of her abdomen. If she is egg-bound, the egg can 
be felt. Anoint the passage with vaseline and introduce the 
finger as far as possible, being careful not to break the egg. 
Then hold the hen over steam as hot as can be borne without 
scalding, until the parts are thoroughly steamed and relaxed. 
After this, carefully put the hen on the nest and usually she 
will be able to pass the egg. 

PIGEON POX 

Sometimes a disease similar to small pox in human beings 
and chicken-pox in poultry appears in a loft. This is known 
by small sores which appear about the head and face. 

When this disease appears, wash the sores with a solution 
of copper sulphate or a solution of peroxide of hydrogen and 
water, equal parts. Either of these solutions will cure the dis- 
ease in a short time. 

56 



SUDDEN COLDS 

Sometimes a pigeon will sit out in a cold rain or sleep in a 
stray draft and catch cold. This makes it sick and stupid, and 
it should be cared for at once. 

To cure a cold of this kind, give five-drops of castor oil 
and the next day a one grain capsule of quinine. Follow this 
with ten drop doses of cod liver oil for a few days and the 
bird will soon be as lively as ever. 

LEG WEAKNESS 

Leg weakness is usually caused by inbreeding or an ac- 
cidental weakness. There is no certain cure for it, because we 
never know just what has caused the trouble. If a bird seems 
weak in the legs rub some camphorated oil on the hock joint 
and repeat the operation as long as necessary. The short- 
legged varieties like the Homer very seldom have any trouble 
wth their legs. 

WING DISEASE 

Wing disease is a trouble of the "elbow." It is caused by 
a hurt, and the injured bird becomes lame in the wing. Pres- 
ently a lump forms on the elbow and this increases in size, 
filling with a yellowish cheesy matter, causing the bird to 
drag the wing. 

The only thing to do is to run camphorated oil on the in- 
jured spot, and when the swelling has reached full size cut 
it open. Usually the bird is not injured as a breeder, but it 
must make its nest on the floor, as it can not fly. If the dis- 
ease is noticed at the very start, it sometimes may be cured; 
but if the trouble is neglected, a crippled bird is the result. 
For the sake of the appearance of the flock such birds should 
not be allowed to remain in the loft. If your windows or 
openings from the loft to the fly are good size there is little 
danger of this trouble for it is usually caused by the bird 
striking the wing in its rush to get outside. Birds that are 
wild or too often disturbed are more liable to this trouble. 

WORMS 

Worms sometimes bother pigeons. If a bird has a varying 
appetite and seems to be running down, watch its droppings 
and it is likely that worms may be found in them. If the 
worms are not found, it is not conclusive evidence that they 
are not sapping the vitality of the bird and it should be treated. 

67 



A bit of garlic every morning will usually cure the disease. 
The piece of garlic should be about the size of a pea. A 
pill of powdered areca nut mixed with butter is also an effect- 
ive remedy, or a pill as large as a small pea of gum aloes will 
•kill the worms. Give any one of these remedies and expect 
a cure. Give the remedy before the bird has eaten in the 
morning. 

LICE 

Lice are not a disease, but they can do more damage than 
any disease. If they once get a start in the pigeon loft, it 
requires heroic treatment to get them subdued. If attention 
is paid to cleanliness, old nests taken out and burned as soon 
as they are empty, insect powder sprinkled in the nest boxes 
and tobacco stems are used for nesting material, lice will never 
get a foothold in the loft. If it should happen that lice get 
a start, take the birds out of the loft and clean it thoroughly. 
Then paint the walls and nest boxes with kerosene and after- 
ward whitewash every part of the inside with lime. 

DISINFECTANTS 

Any druggist will supply a good disinfectant and give direc- 
tion how to mix it for use. This should be sprinkled about 
the floor once in two or three weeks, and always mixed with 
the whitewash which is used on the loft. A mild disinfectant 
should be sprinkled on the floor at least once a week, and 
twice a week is better. Go quietly into the loft and gently 
sprinkle the solution on the floor, but not on the nests, as this 
frightens the birds. Keep the air of the lofts always smelling 
sweet and pure and there will be no trouble with disease. 

DOUGLAS MIXTURE 

Douglas Mixture is an old-time tonic, much esteemed by 
a good many breeders of pigeons and poultry. It is made by 
dissolving eight ounces of iron sulphate (copperas) in two 
gallons of water and then very slowly adding one ounce of 
sulphuric acid. Put in jugs and it will keep indefinitely. If a 
tablespoon of this is put in the drinking water occasionally, it 
will act as a tonic and make the blood richer. It is especially 
recommended for use during the molting season. 

GENTIAN AS A TONIC 

Compound tincture of gentian is highly recommended as a 
tonic for pigeons. If the birds seem out of condition, a tea- 

68 



spoonful of this in the drinking water will tone them up and 
give them good appetites again. When the birds are molting 
during the months of September, October and November, a 
tablespoonful of compound extract of gentian in the drinking 
water every Sunday morning will keep the birds in condition, 
but this should not be used if the Douglas Mixture is used 
as a tonic. 

SWEET FERN TEA 

For looseness of the bowels, sweet fern tea has been found 
a very good remedy. Looseness of the bowels occurs from 
feeding too much wheat that has not been well dried. It also 
comes from impure water or unsound feed of any kind. To 
cure it a good handful of the leaves is put into three gallons 
of water and boiled down to one-half. Put a teacupful of this 
in two gallons of drinking water. 

NUX VOMICA 

Some breeders recommend nux vomica very highly as a 
tonic, and we mention it so those who follow the directions 
in this book may have their choice. Sixty drops of the tincture 
of nux vomica is put in two gallons of the drinking water 
twice a week, during the molting season. At other times in 
the year it is given when the flock seems to lack liveliness or 
to be droopy for any reason. 

The tincture of nux vomica is about the easiest of all the 
tonics to use, as enough for a year can be kept in a small 
bottle and put into the water without trouble at any time it is 
needed. 

THE MEDICINE CHEST 

Every pigeon-breeder should have a small box in which to 
keep a supply of the medicines which may be needed. This 
box should contain a pot of carbolated vaseline to be used on cuts 
or bruises, as in wing trouble. There should be a four-ounce 
bottle of peroxide of hydrogen, a small bottle of camphorated 
oil, an ounce or two of carbolic acid, a few quinine capsules, 
a bottle of cod liver oil and a bottle filled with kerosene. 
There should also be a medicine dropper, such as is used to 
fill fountain pens, and a small sewing machine oil can to use 
in cases of roup. Such a medicine chest will come handy 
many times a year. 

Don't get into the habit of dosing your birds for every 
imaginary trouble. If pigeons are given a dry, light house, 

59 



good sound grain, plenty of grit, salt, charcoal and perfectly 
pure water to drink, with good facilities for bathing, there 
will be little call for use of medicines. Only doctor sick birds 
when necessary, and then take them out of the loft and keep 
them out until they are well. The careful pigeon-breeder will 
always learn to know his birds by sight and will notice any 
symptoms of disease as soon as they appear. Once any dis- 
ease is noticed, apply the remedy at once without giving the 
ailment opportunity to become chronic. 

If the directions given in this book are followed, the pigeon- 
breeder, although he may start without practical knowledge of 
the business, will be able to carry his birds along in good 
health and promote productiveness in such a manner that he 
may anticipate the best results from his work. 




60 



CHAPTER VIII 

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION— CATCHING MATED PAIRS 

When it is desired to catch mated pairs, take the catching 
net into the fly with you. Drive all the pigeons out in the 
fly and shut them out of the house. Then take another person 
with you and go into the fly. Watch until a cock begins to 
drive a hen and trap him in the net, while your helper watches 
the hen. Take the cock out of the net and hand it to your 
helper, who will catch the hen. Then band the two, putting 
the band on the right leg of the cock and on the left leg of 
the hen. If squabs are banded in the nest, nearly all of them 
will be found banded correctly if the band has been put on 
the right let of the squab first hatched on the left leg of the 
one hatched later. 

STARTING A LOFT 

Buy from ten to fifty mated pairs, according to the amount 
with which you decide to begin. Keep all the best squabs 
hatched during the year, so cross-mating them as not to have 
nest mates mated up for breeding. Dispose of all under-sized 
squabs, and when the birds have grown up sell all those which 
prove inferior. In this way you will learn to manage your 
loft and get your breeding stock at the lowest possible cost. 

THE PRICE OF BREEDING STOCK 

It does not pay to start with poor breeding stock. Buy 
of a reliable breeder and pay a fair price. No one can afford 
to sell first-class breeding stock except in certain seasons 
at less than $1.50 a pair ift large numbers or less than $2.00 a 
pair when from ten to twenty-five pairs are sold in a lot. It 
is poor economy to buy common pigeons as squab-breeders at 
any price and just as bad management to buy cheap Homers 
and run the risk of getting old and worn out birds. 

BEST WEIGHT FOR SQUABS 

Squabs that weigh less than eight pounds to the dozen 
are not desirable, as they sell at a price which drops rapidly 
as they run below eight pounds to the dozen. It costs just 
as much to raise a dark-fleshed and light-weight squab as it 
does to raise a big plump bird with white flesh; and a pair of 

61 



pigeons which produce dark squabs of light weights should be 
disposed of. Select all the time for heavy weights in your 
squabs and get the top of the market. 

LENGTH OF BREEDING PERIOD 

Pigeons will breed regularly for seven or eight years, so 
it is to the interest of the breeders to keep only the best in his 
lofts. The good breeder watches what kind of squabs each 
pair produces and keeps selecting the best from time to time 
until he has a loft full which may be depended upon. 

DON'T OVERCROWD 

Don't overcrowd your lofts. It is better to waste a little 
room than to have too many birds together. Give each fifty 
pairs a room eight by ten feet and a fly at least ten by twenty- 
four feet. 

SQUAB HOMERS 

Health and vigor are the foundation on which success must 
be built. The well-bred squab Homer carries its head erect, its 
plumage is smooth and sleek, and its neck carries the colors 
of the rain-bow. When it stands still, it seems on wires and 
when you go in to your loft in the morning and look over the 
flock any bird which does not in turn give you a looking over 
is not fit for a breeder. The eye is the index of health of pig- 
eons. If the eye is dull or the bird sits winking in a listless 
manner, there is something wrong about it. Sickly birds 
shun society and mope in dark corners. The droppings should 
be noticed. If the birds are healthy, there should be a fair 
proportion of pure white in them, and they should be rather 
firm. The squab Homer in health is a beautiful bird, alive 
every moment and noticing keenly everything that passes. 

INCREASING PRICES 

Squabs have constantly increased in price in the larger 
markets for several years, and hundreds of new towns have 
come in with a call for good squabs. Everyone who begins 
to raise squabs for the market makes the demand for them 
larger. There is no danger of overdoing the business and it 
will continue to grow larger as game birds decrease in num- 
bers. Many restaurants now serve squab when there is an 
order for quail on toast, and those who like good things usually 
go back and want some more of that same kind of "quail." 

62 



Good restaurants now keep squabs on hand and put them on 
their tables under their proper name, having learned that it 
pays to do so. 

THE SOUTH JERSEY SQUAB DISTRICT 

The great business of raising squabs which is carried on in 
South Jersey started with one man and has spread out until 
almost every one in the country for miles around Bridgeton 
keeps pigeons and sells squabs. About 7,000 squabs are sent 
out of this district every week, equal to 365,000 in a year, 
and there is never a time but these squabs sell as soon as 
they reach the market at prices which make it very profitable 
to produce them. Men, women and children raise squabs in 
this district, nearly every one of them being sold in New York 
City. 

THE PROFESSION OF SQUAB BREEDING 

Only a few years ago the man who spent his time breeding 
pigeons was thought to be engaged in a small business. Now 
it has become a profession and is followed by all sorts of 
men as a profitable way of putting in spare time. The pro- 
fessional man raises squabs as a diversion, the clerk or shop 
operative keeps a loft to help out on his income, young men 
pay their way through college on the profits of the squab 
business, old men who have got beyond the harder work of 
life make a good living from squabs; and still the insistent 
food markets call for more squabs at better prices. There 
is no risk in going into the squab business, if the birds are 
•properly cared for. 

REGULARITY 

Have a certain time to do all the work and work to the 
schedule you have prepared. Clean the house on a certain 
day in the week, kill the squabs on the day which best suits 
your market. Feed as nearly at the same time every day as 
possible, for the birds soon learn to know when feeding time 
comes, and the squabs even learn to know when to look for 
the parents to feed them. Keep everything going like clock 
work, and the work will be properly done and the birds thrive 
better for the regular habits they learn. 

GO QUIETLY 

There will always be a number of birds sitting, others will 
be feeding the young, and quick motions or loud noises disturb 

68 



them and cause them to stop feeding or to leave their nests. 
Keep the birds tame by going among them but go quietly. 

THE BEST AGE 

A pair of pigeons begin to breed at about six months of 
age, but young birds are not very profitable as breeders. After 
they are one year old they are in full working condition and 
for the next seven or eight years may be depended on to 
produce regularly, if they are the right kind of scock. 

DON'T KILL TOO YOUNG 

Do not kill your squabs too young. They should be killed 
just before they are ready to leave the nest, but not before 
their flesh has become firm and solid. A squab which is killed 
too young never brings a good price, as the buyers in the 
cities know one immediately they have felt of it, and a few 
squabs which have been killed too soon decrease the price of 
the whole package. Remember that the price paid for squabs 
in a given package is made on the basis of all of them being 
as poor as the poorest in the package. 

MICE IN NESTS 

If you find some of your squabs smashed flat in the nests, 
look out for mice. These little pests like to nest with a pair 
of pigeons, and particularly in cold weather have a fashion 
of crawling between the parent bird and the squab. This 
causes the parent to move about and kill the young. To kill 
the mice, take a large cigar box — or any box of about that size 
— and cut a small hole in one end. Put under this box a 
mouse-trap baited with bits of toasted cheese and on top of 
the box put a heavy weight so the pigeons can not get at the 
trap. Set a few traps around the feed bin also, and it will not 
be long until the last mouse is caught, as they like cheese 
better than the grain which has brought them to the pigeon 
house at first. A good cat kept around the feed room is often 
a good investment, but do not forget that a cat likes squabs 
very much and must be carefully kept outside the breeding 
lofts. 

FEED A VARIETY 

In the proper place we have given directions for mixing 
feed. We refer to it in this place to emphasize the necessity 
of feeding a variety of grains and the mixtures we recommend 
on previous pages will be found such as will produce results. 



Never feed one grain for the reason that it is cheaper than 
the other. It does not pay to economize in this way. True 
economy in feeding is to feed the proper kinds and just as 
much as the birds will eat without wasting. They always 
pick out the kind they like the best first, but they should be 
compelled to eat the whole of the feed each time and should 
be fed just as much as they will clean up from one feeding to 
another. 

VENTILATION 

Most pigeon-breeders keep their houses closed too tight 
during the winter. If cloth is used in the windows instead of 
glass, there will be good ventilation all the time as the muslirt 
used for the windows allows the air to get in and keeps it 
pure inside; but where glass is used, the fly holes should be 
left open nearly every night during the winter or the air will 
become so impure that it will be likely to breed disease. Pig- 
eons when they are not breeding, do not mind cold weather, 
but breeding birds should have a tight house on account of the 
squabs. See to it that the ventilation is attended to. 

TESTING PIGEON EGGS 

If you want to know whether an egg is going to hatch after 
the hen has been sitting for some time look through it, if it 
is clear it will not hatch and might as well be thrown away. 
If it is partly clouded, the egg wll hatch but not for several 
days. If it is dark all over except at the large end, the young 
bird will hatch in three or four days, or it has died. To find 
if it is alive, put some water in a pan having it as warm as the 
hand can be held in it without burning. Set the pan down 
and put the egg in the water, little end down and let it float. 
If the bird is alive it will struggle in the egg and cause it to 
bob around in the water. Testing eggs is not necessary unless 
it is noticed that a certain pair have set for a suspiciously 
long time. 

SELECTING A SITE 

In selecting a site for the pigeon house as much care and 
judgment should be exercised as in choosing the location of 
one's own home. An unhealthy location for man would most 
likely prove unhealthy for the birds. A damp place, or one 
exposed to extremes of heat, cold or wind, is to be rejected. 
The spot selected should be well drained, should be facing the 
south or east, should be free from obstructions which shut out 



the rays of the morning sun and be sheltered either by trees 
or buildings from the north and west winds. Such a place, 
with a shallow stream of pure running water for drinking and 
bathing — so essential to the health of pigeons — will be an ideal 
site, and will require a minimum of expense and daily work 
in caring for the stock. Of course, such sites can only be 
obtained in the country. 

In no case should a house be built for more than 250 pairs 
nor more than 50 pairs be kept in each section. It must be 
so designed as to be well ventilated and easily kept clean, 
secure from attacks of mice, rats, and other animals and not 
subject to drafts of air. 

If feeding hoppers are used they should be of good size 
and properly constructed. If you do not provide a liberal sup- 
ply of mixed grit in a suitable hopper, you should keep at least 
a peck of clean sharp sand on the floor of each pen all the 
time. Provide salt, charcoal and oyster shell and keep a clean 
supply of each before the birds at all times. 

It is usually better, however, to procure a good health grit 
or the tonic ingredients and mix the grit yourself. 

In these receptacles should be kept a generous supply of 
sifted cracked corn, Canada peas, wheat, German millet, kaffir 
corn and hemp. These are the six principal feeds. 

A room 8 by 10 feet will accommodate 50 pairs very com- 
fortably. The fly should be extended 32 feet if possible. 

Pigeons should be fed twice a day — in the summer time at 
6:30 a. m., and 4:30 p. m. ; in the winter at 7:30 a. m., and 
3:00 p. m. 

The best kinds of feeds to use are cracked corn, red wheat 
kaffir corn, millet, peas, hemp and rice. In the morning give 
wheat, cracked corn, and peas in equal parts; in the afternoon 
give equal parts of cracked corn, peas, kaffir corn, and millet. 
The birds should be fed in the pen rather than in the fly. 

Water the birds every morning before feeding using noth- 
ing except fresh pure water. Always clean out the fountains 
before filling. 

Bathing is very essential to the health of pigeons. In sum- 
mer they should have an opportunity to bathe at least every 
other day. In winter the bath should be given only on bright, 
sunny days. It is essential to clean house every week. After 
cleaning the nests, put powdered carbolated lime in all cracks, 
corners, and damp places. Sprinkle the floor with lime and 
sprinkle a bucket of sand evenly over the lime. 

66 




Six Mammoth Homer Squabs weighing full six pounds when dressed 
for the market. 



INDEX 

Page 

Banding 37 

Bathing 22 

Best Breeds 11 

Breeding Habits 26 

Breed for Years 62 

Buckwheat 27 

Buying Stock 11 

Canada Peas 27 

Canary Seed 27 

Carneaux 12 

Canker 54 

Catching Mated Pairs 39-61 

Charcoal 29 

Cholera 55 

Cleanliness 23 

Corn 26 

Cost of Feeding 9-48 

Common Pigeons , 15 

Cooling the Squabs 45 

Diseases 53 

Disinfecting 58 

Douglas Mixture 58 

Dressing and Packing 43 

Dry Lofts 22 

Duchess 12 

Egg Bound 56 

Feeding 26-31-64 

Feed Troughs 31 

Feed Hoppers 32 

Floors 23 

Fly, How Built 19 

Gentian Tonic 58 

Going Light 53 

Grading for Market 46-47 

Grit 12 

Growth of Squabs 50-51-52 

68 



INDEX— Continued 

Page 

Hemp Seed 27 

Homers 1 1 -62 

Houses, Cost 17 

Houses, Plans 24-25 

Increasing the Flock 31 

Kaffir Corn 27 

Killing 45-64 

Killing, English Method 45 

Leg Weakness 57 

Lice 58 

Making a Market 41 

Maltese Hens 12-14 

Mated Pairs 13 

Mice 64 

Millet Seed 27 

Mondaines 12-30 

Nappies 21 

Nests 21-34 

Nesting Material 21 

Nesting Material, Crate for 23 

Number of Squabs 47 

Nox Vomica 59 

Over-crowding 62 

Parcel Post 42 ^ 

Peanuts 26 

Pox 56 

Prices Increasing 62 

Prices of Breeders 61 

Profits 61 

Profession of Squabbing 63 

Quiet 63 

Record of Breeding 40 

Regularity 63 

Roup 55 

Runts 12 

Salt 29 

Sanitation 22 

Sex, How Determined 35 

69 



INDEX— Continued 

Page 

Site for Plant 65 

Sound Grain 26 

South Jersey District 63 

Starting a Loft 61 

Sweet Fern 1 ea 59 

Testing Eggs 65 

Ventilation 65 

Vertigo 56 

Water Fountains 22 

Weight of Squabs 61 

Wheat 26 

Wing Disease 57 

Worms 57 



A. B. MORSE COMPANY, ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



002 8644711 



